Concentrator.



WALTER HAWLEY, OF CARTEBSVILLE, MONTANA.

CONCENTRATOB.

I ,032,281 Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July9, 1912.

Application led July 9, 1910. Serial No. 571,185.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER L. HAWLEY, a citizen of the United States 'of America, residing" at Cartersville, in the county of Rosebud and State of Montana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Concentrators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to concentrators for separating black sand, Hour gold and other fine'and light concentrates from the deposits wherein they are found, and it has reference to that class of concentrators in which a table is provided with riflies over which the material is washed, the values being permitted to sett-le by gravity in the riiiies from whence they are conveyed to a place `of deposit.

This invention has for its object to produce a concentrating table of approximately semi-circular form, the face of whichis provided with ritlie plates, said face being disposed in a spiral plane which is tilted down- Wardly from the receiving end to the discharge end and also tilted from the outeredge in the direction of the inner edge where a receiving groove is formed communicating with the riiies and communicating at its lower end with a discharge chute for the values.

A further object of the invent-ion is to construct a device'of the character described,

l which shall possess superior advantages in point of simplicity, durability and general 'etliciency With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction. and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifica- -tions within the scope of the invention may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a concentrator constructed in accordance with the invention, and showing also a feed trough connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a top plan viewof the concentrating table without the feed trough. Fig. 3

is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail view showing some of the riiiie' plates detached.. v

Corresponding partsv in the several gurespare denoted by like characters of reference.`

The table A, which is of arcuate form, may be of any suitable width, and it is provided adjacent to its outer and inner edges with upstanding flanges 1 and 2 which are approximately semi-circular and disposed in concentric relation. The tace ofthe table is provided adjacent to the inner iange 2 with a groove or gutter 3. The table A, which may be suitably supported upon a 4 framework including legs L and braces 5, is disposed in a spiral plane, that is to say, the receiving end B is elevated above the discharge end C, and the surface of the table is tilted downwardly from the outer edge in the direction of the inner edge, where the receiving groove or gutter 3 is located. The said groove or gutter communicates at its lower end with a discharge chute 6 over which material may be discharged into a box or receptacle, several of which have been shown at 7, it being obvious that any one of said receptacles when filled may be removed and replaced by an empty one. The table is provided adjacent to its lower end with a discharge chute 8 for waste material, and a suitably constructed feed spout or trough D having supporting legs 9 may be leaned or supported upon the table adjacent to the upper or receiving end of the latter.

Suitably supported upon the table between the outer flange 1 and the groove or gutter 3 are a plurality of ritlie plates or sections G. These plates or sections, which are preferably constructed of rubber, cement or of a composition containing cementor rubber, may be secured upon a flexible back-l ing member 10 of canvas or other suit-able material for convenience 1n manipulation.

The ritlie platesor sections, which are in- 4 tended to cover the entire surface of the table between the outer flange 1 and the groove or gutter 3, are made of a length to correspond with the width of the -table between said tiange and gutter, the end edges of said plates or sections being curved to correspond with the curvature of the ange and the gutter. The side edges ot said Plates G are radial to the center of the curved side edges of the table, and the plates or sections may be individually of an desired width, the size. of said plates ing preferably so proportioned that about one dozen of the plates or sections shall be required to cover the surface of the table.

The plates or sections G are formed with rillies or grooves 11, separated by ridges 12, as best seen in Fig. 4, said riilles of each plate or section being disposed in parallel relation to one another and at an angle to the side edges. The riles of each late or section are, moreover, so dis ose at an angle to the radial side edges o the plate so as to lie as nearly as possible transversely in the path of material passing over the table from the upper to the lower end. The inner ends of some of the riles of each plate or section will communicate with and discharge into the groove or gutter 3, while the remaining ritiles will communicate with and dischar e into the riles terminating at the radial side edges of the plate or section next below.

,It will be observed that owing tothe peculiar arrangement of the top of the sluice table, which is disposed in a spiral plane tilted downwardly in the directionfof the axis of the spiral, material that is washed over the table will be impelled by centrifugal action in the direction of the outer edge of the table. This action is counteracted by the di or incline downwardly in the direction o the axis of the table which will impel material to move inl an inward direction, that is to say, in the direction of the vertical axispof the table, by gravity. It is not advisable, however, that the downward inoline in an inward direction be made very pronounced, because the light particles and waste products would ther acquireatendency, especially when the ow is sluggish, to move in the direction of the concentrates groove or gutter along with the heavy particles and values. Now, it will be seen that if the riles were disposed radially with reference to the vertical axis of the sluice table, -the"centrifugal action on the heavy particles, tendin to force them toward the outer edge of te table would favor the washing of such heavy articles over the riiles and their being disc arged eventually along with the waste products. By arranging the riiiles as hereinshown at an angle to the radius and as nearly as may be transversely in the path of the material that is being operated upon, the tendency will be for the heavy particles to move in the direction of the concentrates groove, thus enabling perfect separation to be accomplished.

Instead of providing the table with a plurality of individual ritlle plates or sections, it is obvious that the rile portion may be formed in a single piece,which, however,-

will preserve the structural characteristics above described. Thus, while the surface may be properly described as being divided into a lurality of blocks or sections in each of whichV blocks or sections the ritlies are disposed in parallel relation, the rile blocks or sections may all be integrally joined together. Especially will this be the case when the device is formed of cement or of a cement composition, when the entire table portion may be conveniently formed by casting in a suitable mold or a pluralisly of molds, as the case may be. I partie arly desire` it to be understood that I do not limit myself with re ard to the material or composition of which the riled portion of the table is composed, and also that said riled portion may be constructed in one or more pieces and afterward joined together in any suitable and convenient manner.

It will be seen from the construction herein described that'when material containin flour gold, black sand or other. heavy an valuable substances4 is deposited u n the receiving end of the tablev and is washed 1cver the table by a stream of water, the

ea 11 o each rile plate or section and will be gradually washed from such rile either into the receiving trough 3 or into one of thel ritlies in an adjoining plate or section. It is evident that it is the heaviest articles that will be washed directly from t e rillies 11 into the receiving trough 3, while the somewhat li hter particles will pass over successive r' es of one section until they enter the riiiies of the next section. Here the operation is repeated, the heaviest particles passing off into the trough 3, while the somewhat lighter particles will be washed over the successive riles and to the next section, the o eration being repeated practically at eac section or group of rillles.

substances will settle in the ritlles In this manner the heavy substances containing the values will eventually all be discharged into the receiving trough or groove 3 from which such values will be eventually discharged over the spout 6. The waste material will be discharged from the table over the discharge spout 7.

The construction of the improved concen- -trator is extremely simple and thoroughlyv effective, it being practically impossible for any heavy substances to escape without being caught in some one of the riles.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In a concentrator, an arcuate table having a surface disposed in a s iral plane and tilted downwardly in the ection o f the axis of the spiral, said table being provided with upstanding flanges adjacent to its outer and inner ed es and with a groove or gutter adjacent to its inner edge, in combination with groups o r blocks of riles upon the 13 surface of the table, the riles of each block being disposed in parallel relation to one another, some of said riiies communicating with the groove or gutter at the inner edge of the table and some of the riiies communieating with the riiles next below leading to said groove or gutter.

2. In a concentrator, a supporting table having a groove or gutter for the reception of the concentrates, the surface of the table being tilted in the direction of said groove, and said surface being also arranged in a spiral plane, in combination with a plurality of riiile plates supported upon the surface of the table, said riHle plates being provided with individual riiles arranged in arallel relation to one another and approximatelytransversely in the path of material passing over the table, some of said ritlies communicating directly with the concentrates groove, and some of the rilies communicating with riiies in an adjacentplate that lead to the concentrates groove.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER L. HAwLEY.

Witnesses ALVER HAMMERSTROM, TONY PA'rmRo. 

